EAN: 9780820424170

THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN THE NOVELS OF JU...

Traditional criticism on Valera has stressed his excellence as a stylist  his contributions to
Spanish regionalism and to establishing the psychological novel in Spain. A very large
proportion of available scholarship focuses on his reputed masterpiece  Pepita Jimenez  or on
thematic aspects including a penchant for the marginally «sacreligious» or winter-spring
romances. In The Representation of Women in the Novels of Juan Valera: A Feminist Critique 
Teresia Taylor's text-oriented essay analyzes the role of major female characters in Valera's
eight full-length novels. Giving equal attention to the less commonly studied novels  these are
organized in four pairs based on similar representations of women (for example  Pepita Jimenez
and Dona Luz compare two women who love «priests»). Taylor examines the presence of archetypes
and mythologization  Valera's penchant for female stereotyping  his treatment of women as
commodity  and his perhaps inadvertent depiction of the marginalization of women as well as
some women's ability to overcome despite these odds. While Valera is often praised without
qualification for his presentation of female characters  this feminist critique points out his
supportive depiction of patriarchal control  including gender stereotypes  the acceptance of
feminine relegation to the margins and preference for conforming female characters  together
with punishment or degradation of women who transgress culturally accepted norms. This text is
a valuable contribution to extant Valera criticism that typically gives short shrift to the
less commonly studied novels. It also adds to the previously scant critical feminist critique
available on Juan Valera's novels.

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